Incriminating Stick
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: The only reason CJ took the test was to shut Danny up and wipe the smirk off his face.


**I don't own The West Wing and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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CJ and Danny sat in the bathroom in silence. Neither knew exactly what to say about the incriminating stick sitting on the sink. "So…," Danny trailed off, not knowing where to go from here.

"Yeah." CJ had only taken the test to shut Danny up, prove him wrong, and wipe that smirk off his face. That had blown up in her face immensely.

"You're pregnant."

She tried to let that sink in, but it wasn't working. "Yes, I am. I am growing a life inside of me. Holy fuck, Danny! I'm pregnant! Knocked up. With child. Expecting."

"How more many ways are you going to say the same thing?" He couldn't help but laugh now. The look in his wife's face shut him up.

"I thought this was just the flu. I didn't think I was actually pregnant." CJ was still in disbelief.

"Well, you had to know it was a possibility. You haven't started menopause – you're still getting your period." Now that the shock was fading away, Danny was starting to get pretty excited about all of this.

CJ scoffed. "Yeah, but I'm forty-four years old, Danny. I'm not a teenager. How often does this happen to women my age?" She still couldn't believe this was actually happening.

He shrugged. "I can get you statistics if you want. You're not a miracle – women older than you have gotten pregnant naturally. Do you want this baby?" He wanted it, but he wouldn't tell her what to do with her own body. It was completely up to CJ.

CJ wasn't sure what she wanted and told him so. "So many things could go wrong because of my age. I need to make an appointment with my doctor and see what we're up against. You okay with that?"

Danny nodded. "Of course I am, CJ. And I'm going with you because I want to know about this stuff. Don't keep anything from me." He didn't want her to hide shit from him.

"I won't," she assured him. Now that the news wasn't so new, CJ was starting to accept it. She wasn't excited yet, but she was getting there. But she was still worried about her health and this kid taking up residence in her womb. What if something went wrong? She and Danny had always talked about kids, but they had never made any concrete plans. This was terrifying.

CJ stood up and threw away the test. She and Danny went to bed, but she couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned all night, running over the worst case scenario in her head – miscarrying, stillbirth, problems with the baby's health, dying during childbirth, etc. She didn't know if she could be a good mother. She'd probably screw up the kid for life and they'd hate her. She was going to be an old mother! Abortion crossed her mind a few times, but CJ filed it away until she had some more information from her doctor. They'd cross that bridge at her appointment.

The next morning, she got a spot when there was a cancellation. Danny called off work and drove her to the office. "So you believe you're pregnant. Symptoms?" she questioned.

CJ rattled off the answers. "My period's late – my cycle is pretty regular, I'm exhausted all the time, morning sickness is making my life a complete hell, the pregnancy test I took was positive and Danny, am I missing anything?"

"Your boobs are bigger." He flinched away when his wife glared at him, but it was the truth. That was actually one of the first signs that had him convinced CJ was pregnant.

The doctor smiled. "We could run a blood test, but why don't we do an ultrasound? Determine how far along you are and to see how the baby's doing."

"Okay, good." CJ had been completely unprepared for that part. She reluctantly stripped down into a gown and sat down on the bed.

The doctor came in a few minutes later and started up the machine. CJ flinched at the cold when the gel was squirted onto her stomach, but smiled at her husband when Danny stood by her and took her hand. "We're going to see our baby," he whispered.

"Yeah." Worried about what they were going to see, CJ closed her eyes.

"And that is your baby. You look to be around nine weeks along. Everything looks fine so far. You want to look, Mrs. Concannon?"

CJ shook her head. When a thumping sound filled the room, she reluctantly opened her eyes. "What is that?" she asked in wonder.

"That would be your baby's heartbeat. Congratulations, you two. The baby is perfectly healthy. That's a good, strong heartbeat. Do you want a copy of this?"

A tear slipped out of CJ's eye, but she nodded as Danny wiped it off her face. "Yes, of course." She was in awe.

"Now, because of your age, this is a high risk pregnancy. I'm going to refer you to a colleague of mine here who specializes in high risk pregnancies. I trust her, and I want you to do the same. But you appear to be healthy for your age, and that's good."

"Thank you so much," CJ told her when they were leaving.

"You're welcome." The doctor waved goodbye, and then Danny and CJ departed. In the car on the way home, CJ couldn't stop looking at the ultrasound.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Danny was glad she seemed to have finally come around to this.

She nodded. "This is something we both created. I've been around pregnant women before and kids, but that's nothing compared to what I'm feeling right now. I'm still terrified of all the things that could go wrong, of being a shitty parent, but I want to do this with you, Danny. It's not something I'd want with anybody else."

He grinned. "I feel the same way. CJ, I know you're scared – I'm reasonably certain all first-time parents are – but with me by your side? We can raise a kid together."

She smiled back at him. "Yes, we can."

This was the end of CJ's first big freak-out, but there'd be plenty more during the rest of the pregnancy. Danny ended up having a few of his own – he couldn't be calm and collected all the time – but she managed to calm him down.

When the baby kicked for the first time and he could actually feel it, Danny cried (he denied it later when CJ told Donna, who informed Josh in turn). She had a meltdown over the nursery not being done in time, but fortunately for them, their friends helped them finish.

CJ had to deliver their daughter via C-section, but she stopped caring about her birth plan the instant she laid eyes on Addison Beatrix Concannon for the first time. "Wow."

"That's actually exactly how I'm feeling," Danny admitted.

"I am never doing this again, just so you know, but it was definitely worth going through all that shit for this beautiful, tiny little girl." CJ was not a huge fan of pregnancy, even though it had gone relatively well. The last few weeks had been the worst.

He couldn't stop staring at the newborn in his wife's arms. "I don't want you to go through that again either, but yeah, the end result was worth it." Danny had been on the receiving end of CJ's pregnancy hormones and cravings one too many times to want to experience it again. It was nothing compared to what she had gone through, but still.

Addison had been the best surprise (accident, Danny claimed, but CJ hit him for that comment despite it being true) of either of their lives so far. They were excited to see what their daughter would be like and what she'd grow up to be. And she kept them on their toes every day of her life.


End file.
